Nigel, why work in privacy?

I’ve always been interested in technology, and I guess having initially trained as a litigator, commercial sensitivities and the need for privacy are ingrained in me. I wanted to run my own business; when we saw the gap for a way to make privacy easy, it just made sense to get going. From a mercenary perspective, privacy is a market that is going to grow and grow as more businesses wake up to the fact that privacy is really, really important. 

But privacy’s really complicated isn’t it?

No! It’s actually really simple when you do it right. At the Hub we have eight easy-to-remember privacy promises, an automated Route Map, ready-made templates, records and engaging online training. It’s privacy made practical, and it lets you involve everyone in the organisation in the goal to stay protected. 

But privacy is dull, you’ll admit that?

To some people, maybe. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t care about it. And actually, we think privacy is really interesting. Try asking a business that’s shared all of its customers’ credit card details by mistake if they think it’s boring. Or ask someone whose online dating profile gets leaked. 

What does the Hub do?

It’s a comprehensive resource for businesses to create a culture of continuous privacy compliance in their organisations. On a practical level it’s templates, records, information, policies and online training, all centred around eight privacy promises. If everyone in the company complies with those promises, then the company will be compliant with its data protection responsibilities. 

What’s the benefit of it?

We help people understand what privacy is all about. If they understand privacy, they care about privacy, and they’ll contribute to making their business a privacy-compliant organisation. That gives their business the benefits of lower risk and increased customer trust. And it gives people peace of mind, as they know they’re compliant.

Couldn’t businesses just write their own privacy policies instead?

They could, but they’d get into all sorts of trouble! The privacy landscape is ever-changing, with new regulations and threats emerging all the time. There are only two ways to do privacy well: create the right culture, and stay on top of it.

Where do you work from?

My sofa most of the time. My co-founder Karima and I were the first lawyers hired by Google in Europe, and while we enjoyed it there, we eventually decided we wanted a change from the fancy London offices with table football and free sushi. We’re deliberately low-overhead, and have a small trusted team of experienced professionals to help us. It keeps costs low for our clients, and they get a more personal service too.

Tell us about the gardening.

It’s a real passion of mine. I guess I like the idea of creating a place that you can relax in that’s well ordered, somewhere that once you’ve done some initial legwork, is easy to maintain and enjoy. A bit like managing privacy through the Privacy Compliance Hub. 

That’s a good analogy. Did you just think of it?

Glad you like it – and yes! I expect I’ll use it more often…

What’s been the best thing about running the business?

Watching it grow. Meeting some great people and learning about their businesses, learning more about the day to day, practical aspects of privacy, (which is after all, a fundamental human right) and helping our clients to relax because they know, with our solution, they’ve got everything covered.


If you’d like to learn more about the Privacy Compliance Hub, or have a question about seasonal planting, drop Nigel an email at nigel@privacycompliancehub.com.